Nobody's Friend

My name is Gossip.

I have no respect for justice.

I maim without killing.

I break hearts and ruin lives.

I am cunning and malicious and gather strength with age.

The more I am quoted the more I am believed.

My victims are helpless. They cannot protect themselves against me because I have no name and no face.

To track me down is impossible. The harder you try, the more elusive I become.

I am nobody's friend.

Once I tarnish a reputation, it is never the same.

I topple governments and wreck marriages.

I ruin careers and cause sleepless nights, heartaches and indigestion. I make innocent people cry in their pillows.

Even my name hisses. I am called Gossip.

I am make headlines and headaches.

Before you repeat a story, ask yourself:

Is it true?

Is it harmless?

Is it necessary?

If it isn't, don't repeat it.

-Author Unknown

“What does love look like? It has the hands to help others. It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men. That is what love looks like.”
St. Augustine

 


"God has promised forgiveness to your repentance , but He has not promised tomorrow to your procrastination"

St. Augustine

SAINT LOUIS, King of France,

[Feast day August 25]

From "Lives of The Saints with Reflections for Every Day in the Year" by

Rev. Alban Butler.

The mother of Louis told him she would rather see him die than commit a

mortal sin, and he never forgot her words. King of France at the age of

twelve, he made the defense of God's honor the aim of his life. Before two

years, he had crushed the Albigensian heretics, and forced them by

stringent penalties to respect the Catholic faith. Amidst the cares of

government, he daily recited the Divine Office and heard two Masses, and

the most glorious churches in France are still monuments of his piety. When

his courtiers remonstrated with Louis for his law that blasphemers should

be branded on the lips, he replied, "I would willingly have my own lips

branded to root out blasphemy from my kingdom." The fearless protector of

the weak and the oppressed, he was chosen to arbitrate in all the great

feuds of his age, between the Pope and the Emperor, between Henry III and

the English barons. In 1248, to rescue the land which Christ had trod, he

gathered round him the chivalry of France, and embarked for the East.

There, before the infidel, in victory or defeat, on the bed of sickness or

a captive in chains, Louis showed himself ever the same, -- the first, the

best, and the bravest of Christian knights. When a captive at Damietta, an

Emir rushed into his tent brandishing a dagger red with the blood of the

Sultan, and threatened to stab him also unless he would make him a knight,

as the Emperor Frederick had Facardin. Louis calmly replied that no

unbeliever could perform the duties of a Christian knight. In the same

captivity he was offered his liberty on terms lawful in themselves, but

enforced by an oath which implied a blasphemy, and though the infidels held

their swords' points at his throat, and threatened a massacre of the

Christians, Louis inflexibly refused. The death of his mother recalled him

to France; but when order was reestablished he again set forth on a second

crusade. In August, 1270, his army landed at Tunis, and, though victorious

over the enemy, succumbed to a malignant fever. Louis was one of the

victims. He received the Viaticum kneeling by his camp-bed, and gave up his

life with the same joy that he had given all else for the honor of God.

Please read below a most inspiring letter sent to his son when St. Louis

was near death. This is taken from an account of his life as contained in

BUTLER'S LIVES OF THE SAINTS.

Finding his distemper increase, he called for his eldest son Philip and

gave him certain pious instructions which he had drawn up in writing before

he left Paris. Two copies hereof are still kept in the Chamber of Accounts

at Paris, under this title: "Instructions of King Lewis, the saint, to

Philip, his eldest son." The dying admonitions of this great king to him

are here inserted in abstract: "My son, before all things I recommend to

you that you love God. Be always ready rather to suffer all manner of

torments than to commit any mortal sin. When sickness or any other

affliction befalls you, return thanks to God for it and bear it

courageously, being persuaded that you deserve to suffer much more for

having served God ill, and that such tribulations will be your gain. In

prosperity give thanks to God with humility and fear lest by pride you

abuse God's benefits, and so offend Him

by those very means by which you ought particularly to improve yourself in

his service. Confess your sins frequently, and choose a wise and pious

ghostly father who will teach you what to follow and what to shun; let him

be one that will boldly reprehend you and make you understand the

grievousness of your faults. Hear the Divine Office devoutly - meditate

affectionately what you ask of God with your mouth; do this with more than

ordinary application during the holy sacrifice of the mass, especially

after the consecration. Be bountiful, compassionate, and courteous to the

poor, and relieve and favour them as much as you can. If anything trouble

your mind, reveal it to your ghostly father or to some other grave and

discreet person; for by the comfort you will receive you will bear it more

patiently. Love to converse with pious persons; never admit any among your

familiar friends but such as are virtuous and of good reputation; shun and

banish from you the vicious. Make it your delight to hear profitable

sermons and discourses of piety. Endeavor to gain the benefit of

indulgences and to get the prayers of others. Love all good and abhor all

evil. Wherever you are,

never suffer anyone to detract or say anything sinful in your presence.

Punish all who speak ill of God or his saints. Give often thanks to God for

all His benefits. In the administration of justice be upright and severe;

hear patiently the complaints of the poor, and in all controversies where

your interests are concerned stand for your adversary against yourself till

the truth be certainly found out. Whatever you find not to belong to you,

restore it without delay to the owner, if the case be clear; if doubtful,

appoint prudent men to examine diligently into it. Endeavor to procure

peace and justice to all your subjects. Protect the clergy and religious

who pray for you and your kingdom. Follow the maxim of my grandfather King

Philip, that it is sometimes better to dissemble certain things in

ecclesiastics than to repress them with too great violence and scandal.

Love and honour the queen your mother, and follow her counsels. Make no

war, especially against Christians, without great cause and good advice. If

necessity force you to it, let it be carried on without damage to those who

are not in fault, and spare the innocent subjects of your enemy as much as

possible. Use all your authority to hinder wars among your vassals. Be

scrupulous in the choice of good judges and magistrates. Have always a

great respect for the Roman Church and the pope, and honour him as your

spiritual father. Hinder, to the utmost of your power, all blasphemies,

rash oaths, games of chance, drunkenness, and impurity. Never make any

extravagant expenses, and never lay on your subjects any heavy or unjust

burdens. After my death take care to have a great many masses and prayers

said for me in all churches and religious communities in France; and give

me a share in all the good works which you shall do. I give you my blessing

with the most tender affection that any father can give to a son; and I

pray our Lord Jesus Christ to protect and strengthen you in His service,

and always to increase His grace in you that you never do anything against

His holy will, and that He may be ever faithfully honoured and served by

you. I beg this same grace for myself, that we may together see, laud and

honor Him for all eternity.

The feast of St. Louis, King of France is August 25th. Let us meditate, in

the person of St. Louis, upon one of the most beautiful masterpieces of

grace and see what religion made of this prince: 1st a great king; 2nd a

great Christian. We will than make the resolution: 1st to act, to speak,

and to think in a spirit of faith, with a view to God and His glory; 2nd,

always to treat our neighbor in a spirit of charity, forgetting ourselves

for the good of others. Our spiritual nosegay shall be the beautiful

eulogium pronounced upon St. Louis by one of his historians: "He endeavored

always to please Jesus Christ, as the sole King of all hearts."

 

Stormy sea with Lighthouse (circa 1826), Carl Blechen

When thou art troubled and afflicted, then is the time of merit.  Thou must pass through fire and water before thou come to refreshment.
Following of Christ

The Assumption of the Virgin, commissioned in 1516, is the first large scale work that Titian completed it in 1518 for the Basilica of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari in Venice. The color of this work is revolutionary and Titian used color to create meaning.
Within the whole panel there are three realms, “the earth-bound apostles, the soaring Madonna and accompanying angels, and the heavenly dominion of the welcoming God the Father.”[1] Although there are these separate sections, Titian uses his application and choice of color to create a cohesive narrative. This was a new way of approaching this scene. The artist was representing two different moments on one panel and using color as an element tying the two together so it doesn’t become confusing to understand for the viewer.
There are not many different colors but different tones of the same colors in this work. The piece has  rosy and golden features that remains the same throughout the whole piece, even though in heaven, it is more greatly displayed. There are connections throughout all three realms with the same colors. The reds of the garments echo through out as do the blue hues, and the piece is “tuned to a full harmony” with these colors.[2]This element brings meaning to moment. These colors lead the viewers’ eyes to move up the painting, perhaps creating the feeling of helping the Virgin along to her rightful throne.

Assumption of the Virgin detail, Image Credit to ARTstor

She moves in a great sweeping movement, with fabric swirling around her brilliantly, only highlighted more by the same journey of colors. It is this application and “simplification of the coloring [that] enhances the impression of certainty, inevitability, and sanctity.”[3]

Assumption of the Virgin detail, Image Credit to ARTstor

Titian’s use of the competition of dark and light supports the impression and drama of this work, which Dolce writes is one of the “principal [parts] of colorito.”[4] At the bottom of the panel the colors are darker so the apostles seem to emerge from the shadows and “stand out like silhouettes.”[5] In Heaven, God is very dark in contrast to the golden burst of heaven that helps him stand out in a sweeping rush. In this work, Titian has used light to enhance his figures as well as enhance the meaning of the moment. The gold light lifts the Virgin upward. God is highlighted against the head of the putti. The light explodes behind of the body of God, who cuts through the painting in a diagonal movement, supported by his cape-like drapery that fades directly into the light.

Basilica of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, Venice (Photo by Dr. Marjorie Och)

 

Holy Family with Sts Elizabeth and John the Baptist (1777), Pompeo Batoni


 

There is no physical or moral misery which Jesus cannot cure.  He asks only that we go to Him with a heart dilated by faith, and with complete trust in His all-powerful merciful love.
Divine Intimacy

Burial of Saint Cecilia in the Catacombs of Rome (1852), Luis de Madrazo

 


If we would advance in virtue, we must not neglect little things, for they pave the way and give entrance to greater." Book of the Foundations, Ch. xxvi